How to Humanise Your Brand and Make a Connection
Want to create a meaningful brand and make a connection? You've got to be human, *especially* if you're selling yourself.
Think about all the brands you love. Airbnb. Spotify. Apple. Humans are at their centre. Why? Humans are relatable.
We understand humans because we are human. We empathise with other people, so it makes sense to connect on that level.
How do brands connect with humans? By telling human stories.
Stories elicit emotion and emotion is connected to memory. If you make your audience feel, they'll remember you. It's proven!
Want to see this in action? Here are some examples of brands using stories to create connection.
Airbnb
Tagline: "Belong Anywhere."
In just two words, Airbnb is telling a powerful story. It addresses our deep-seated fears and desires in one fell swoop. We all fear loneliness. We all desire to belong. Belonging = connection. Airbnb tells us we can belong wherever we are. Impressive!
Belonging is a human need connected to security. Airbnb taps into a base level need and makes us reassured. We also feel excited because we feel like we can explore without feeling out of place.
Spotify
Mission: "Our mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity—by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by it."
Creativity. Inspiration. Connection. Spotify tells two human stories here – the artist wanting to live off their art and the fan who wants to listen to music. And if you want to get real nerdy like me, there are sub-stories inherent in these ideas too.
If you’re an artist, you feel accomplished by sharing your music. If you’re a listener, you feel inspired.
Apple
Tagline: "Think differently."
Everything about Apple is human, from its intuitive design to the culture around the brand. "Think differently" is no different. The tagline empowers us to express our individuality, to move beyond societal constraints and innovate. There’s no mistake Apple is a favourite amongst creatives. We like to “think differently”.
How do we feel? Empowered. Motivated. Ready to create.
5 easy ways to humanise your brand
Okay, so I've convinced you. Human brands are the go, but how do you leverage the power of human connection in your brand? Easy. You sell yourself. Not just your photos, art or designs. You sell you.
Photographer? Sell your personality.
Artist? Sell your story.
Designer? Sell your values.
It's no more complicated than that. But to make it super easy, here are five ways to humanise your brand and tell stories through your content.
1. Show your face
Photographers, I'm looking at you! Yes, we want to see the golden light you capture on film. Or if you’re an artist, the beautiful colour you spray on canvas. But it means nothing without a human behind it.
We're buying from you, so give us a chance to connect with you. Personal branding is only gaining more traction. And if you're a solo business, you just can't get away with not showing your face.
Don't worry. You don't have to share selfies. It can be tasteful. Pay a photographer for two hours and get a whole file of photos you can use on your website and social media.
Your website should have at least two photos of you (one on the Home page, one in the About section).
As for Instagram, it's essential to show your face there too. Creatives can get funny about posting photos of themselves (me included), but if you look at my feed, you'll see I post them sparingly. My rule of thumb? To have at least one photo of myself in the last 9 photos of my feed, so whoever is stalking will connect with me immediately.
2. Give a behind-the-scenes look
How do you create? What's it like working with you? Give us a look! The finished product is not enough. We want to see the work you put in.
Behind-the-scene looks make you more human on multiple levels. First, they tend to feature you, which is always a good move (see point one), and tell a story (see point five) — two major points on the human brand scale.
Want an example? One of my designer clients handcrafts all of her garments. Every. Single. One. She doesn't send them off to a CMT. Instead, she creates each one on her sewing machine. She shares this beautiful process in her Insta stories.
I don't know about you, but handmade anything makes me want to get my credit card out and buy. Why? Because I'm not just buying the item, I'm buying the story. It's meaningful.
3. Share your values
Did you know deep-seated values and beliefs drive us? Harvard Business School Professor Gerald Zaltman says 95% of buyer decision-making takes place in the subconscious mind.
We subconsciously align ourselves with brands who find the same things important, so sharing your values will attract like-minded people.
How do you start?
Live your values (very important)
Living your values might sound obvious but believe me, I forget.
Example: One of my values is living creatively. One day my business coach asked me how I was *living* that value on a day-to-day basis.
I thought being creative for my clients was enough. Hmm, not really! I wasn't living my value of making time for creativity. Since then, I've made an effort to be creative outside of writing.
Share how you live your values in your content
So once you're living your values, you can share your values. Every time I'm creative, I share the experience online. Why? Creativity is a value my audience and I share. We connect on that level.
Tell your audience what matters to you
Another way to share your values is just to come right out and say it. For example, tell your audience you value honesty, humility or connection (or whatever matters to you). Nothing makes us more human than what we stand for.
4. Be accessible
I'm stating the obvious, but one of the key differences between human beings and inanimate objects is that we engage. We have conversations. We listen, understand and respond.
That's why social media was such a game-changer in marketing. Businesses could actually engage persuade in real-time. In short, social media made brands more human.
We all forget the primary purpose of social media is to be social. I certainly do. As an introvert, sometimes the last thing I want to do is talk to strangers, but I've learnt that it's a necessity to make real connections.
You've probably heard the saying, "don't post and ghost"? It's true! Reply to every comment. Every DM. Every email. Of course, you need to set boundaries and have downtime, but people want to know there's an actual human on the other end of the line.
Real conversations create meaningful connections, and this kind of engagement makes your brand more human.
5. Tell humble stories
'Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make but about the stories you tell.' – Seth Godin
I'm a big storyteller. I read, write and watch *all the tv* series. But when it came to my content, I forgot about what I do best. As a result, I was missing out on an ample opportunity.
Humans have always used stories to understand the world. Stories teach us about history, love, loss…. life in general.
Why are stories so important in branding?
Stories elicit emotion which drives connection
Stories help your audience learn
Stories give your business meaning
Stories are memorable
Stories make you more human!
How did you start your business? What's the story behind your latest artwork? Have you made a mistake in your business but learnt a valuable lesson?
We're so over slick Instagram feeds and entrepreneurs with "perfect" lives. We want to see the grit of living. It makes us feel less alone. So share some real stories.
Humble stories get traction.
You can make a story about anything. And I guarantee you'll get way more engagement than another shiny picture of your art.
Human brands are brands we remember. We want to know your human because we are human.
Be relatable. Be relevant. Be real.
Be human.